The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Aspects of the present invention relate to equipment and methods used during laboratory testing of bodies moving over surfaces such as all types of vehicles traveling on a roadway.
Referring to vehicles such as automobiles by way of example, the use of simulated roadways has become important in the development of vehicle designs. These roadway simulators generally comprise one or more individual endless belts that are mounted below the vehicle, engaging one or more wheels, and/or positioned below other body panels of the vehicle. The belts are driven to simulate driving the vehicle over a road. Commonly, the roadway simulators are disposed in wind tunnels so as to measure aerodynamic characteristics. Generally, roadway simulators improve the realism of flow characteristics leading to improved measurement of aerodynamic characteristics.
The vehicle is typically restrained with respect to the simulated roadways through a linkage that restrains the vehicle from movement in longitudinal direction (fore and aft), in lateral direction (side-to-side) and in yaw (steering motion). Commonly, the vehicle restraints are passive restraints which do not affect the vehicle's dynamics, but which can be used for measuring loads if desired in the different directions of restraint. The vehicle is maintained for free movement in roll, pitch and vertical directions, and if desired, force inputs for roll, pitch and aerodynamic forces in the vertical direction can be added into the test vehicle to simulate the effect of increased speed, cornering or the like on the vehicle.